Shardul Thakur, a paceman for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), is likely to reenter the lineup before the upcoming match against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on Saturday, April 29. Due to discomfort that kept him from playing, the pacer was out.
Shardul last played for Kolkata on April 16, when they played the Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium. The bowler scored 13 runs while at bat and took one wicket for 25 runs in his two overs. The high-stakes match ended in a five-wicket loss for KKR. Since then, the 31-year-old has been forced to watch from the sidelines, and many people assumed that his poor form was the reason he was benched.
According to a Cricbuzz report, the pacer has recovered from a niggle and is sweating it out in the net sessions in preparation for the forthcoming game. In addition, prior to the game against RCB on April 26, Shardul batted and bowled for considerable periods of time.
Shardul is most likely to take the place of Vaibhav Arora, who made his debut against Bangalore, given that he is expected to make his comeback in the starting XI. Notably, Shardul has only taken two league wickets in his five games played for KKR so far.
He has also amassed 101 runs in his appearances, with his best performance coming against RCB (on April 6), when he scored 68 runs and was named Player of the Match.
After losing four straight games, KKR ended their losing streak by defeating RCB in their most recent match.
After a chaotic start to the first leg of the competition, KKR now stands seventh on the IPL 2023 points table. Nitish Rana and company are vying for a top-four berth despite being without Shreyas Iyer for the entire season due to an injury. In order to maintain their chances of making the playoffs, KKR will need to maximize the opportunities presented by the upcoming games.
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